Digital Ad Spending Growth Slows Amid Economic Uncertainty Tariffs; $10 Billion Social Media Ad Cut Possible in 2025

New forecasts indicate a deceleration in digital ad spending growth. Digital pure players, including Google, Meta, and Amazon, saw $271 billion in U.S. ad revenue last year and are projected to grow by 9.1% in 2025, a decrease from the previous estimate of 9.9%. Social media ad spending is also experiencing a slowdown, with projected growth of 10.7%, down from 11.5%. Concerns about tariffs are impacting advertiser budgets, with some anticipating cuts of up to 20%. EMarketer estimates that tariffs could reduce U.S. social ad spending by as much as $10 billion in 2025. Google, Meta, and Amazon are expected to be the most resilient, while platforms like Pinterest, Reddit, and Snapchat may face bigger challenges. According to a February 2025 survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 94% of advertisers are concerned about the impact of tariffs on advertising budgets. While overall ad spend growth is projected to be lower than 2024, which surged due to the Olympics and the Presidential election, it remains positive with an anticipated modest growth of 7.3%. Retail media is projected to grow at more than twice the rate of spend overall (+15.6%). CTV expects double-digit growth (+13.8%), as does social (+11.9%).